Stockton Rush is an American entrepreneur and the founder of OceanGate, a company specializing in manned submersible technologies for deep-sea exploration.
OceanGate focuses on developing and operating submersibles capable of reaching extreme depths to explore and document underwater environments, such as deep-sea trenches and shipwrecks.
Stockton has been at the forefront of the company’s efforts to advance deep-sea exploration and promote scientific research of the ocean’s depths.
According to multiple sources, the OcenGate CEO was born in a wealthy family.
Stockton’s ancestry can also be traced back to two of America’s founding fathers, giving him wealth on both sides of the family.
He’s a descendant of two of the Declaration of Independence’s signers, Benjamin Rush and Richard Stockton.
Stockton is also descended from 18th-century poet Annis Stockton, US Attorney General Richard Rush and US Civil War commander Richard Henry Rush.
Stockton Rush career
Stockton graduated from Princeton University with a BSE in aerospace, aeronautical and astronautical engineering in 1984 and later from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business with an MBA in 1989.
He began his career as a pilot, qualifying from the United Airlines Jet Training Institute in 1981 at the age of 19 and serving as a DC-8 first officer on flights to Europe and the Middle East during his summers between college.
Stockton left Princeton to join McDonnell Douglas Corporation as a flight test engineer on its F-15 program, spending two years at Edwards Air Force Base on its APG-63 radar test and anti-missile programs.
In the year he left UC Berkeley, he built a Glasair III experimental aircraft, which he still owns and flies, and subsequently constructed a heavily-modified Kittredge K-350 two-man submarine, in which he has conducted more than 30 dives.
Between 2003 and 2007 Stockton served on the Museum of Flight’s Board of Trustees in Seattle, Washington, also chairing the institution’s Development Committee for a year during his tenure.
He founded OceanGate Expeditions in 2009 and OceanGate Foundation in 2012 while also sitting on the board of BlueView Technologies, a manufacturer of high-frequency sonar systems.
Stockton Rush age
He was born in 1962, making him 61-years-old as of June 2023.
Who is Stockton Rush’s wife?
Stockton’s wife is Wendy Rush née Hollings Weil having married in 1986.
According to The Sun, she is is the communications director for OceanGate Inc, and also serves on the board of the company’s charitable foundation.
Wendy’s LinkedIn states that she has participated in three OceanGate expeditions to the Titanic wreckage in the last two years.
Additionally, from 2017 to October 2021, she was the president of the OceanGate Foundation, and retains her position as a member of the foundation’s executive board.
Before her affiliation with OceanGate, Wendy was a substitute teacher in Lancaster and an account manager with Ladd Associates.
The wife of Stockton Rush, the pilot of the missing Titanic tour submarine, is actually the great-great-granddaughter of two first-class passengers who died on the Titanic, records show.
A fictionalized version of the couple is even featured in the movie. pic.twitter.com/XVd7IkOmEw
— Pop Base (@PopBase) June 22, 2023
How much is Stockton Rush worth?
Stockton has a estimated net worth of $12 million.
According to Distractify, the OceanGate CEO was born into a wealthy family, which allowed him to pursue his passions.
While Stockton’s exact net worth isn’t public knowledge, between his family money, OceanGate salary, and aerospace experience, his estimated net worth is as mentioned above.
However, OceanGate has been valued at $66 million and so as the founder and CEO, he likely has a high financial stake in the company.
